Scripture at Sunrise 10.1.2013

“He hath given meat unto them that fear Him: He will ever be mindful of His covenant.” -Psalm 111:5

Those who fear God need not fear want. Through all these long years the Lord has always found meat for His own children, whether they have been in the wilderness, or by the brook Cherith, or in captivity, or in the midst of famine. Hitherto the Lord has given us day by day our daily bread, and we doubt not that He will continue to feed us till we want no more.

As to the higher and greater blessings of the covenant of grace, He will never cease to supply them as our case demands. He is mindful that He made the covenant and never acts as if He regretted it. He is mindful of it when we provoke Him to destroy us. He is mindful to love us, keep us, and comfort us, even as He engaged to do. He is mindful of every jot and tittle of His engagements, never suffering one of His words to fall to the ground.

We are sadly unmindful of our God, but He is graciously mindful of us. He cannot forget His Son who is the surety of the covenant, nor His Holy Spirit who actively carries out the covenant, nor His own honor, which is bound up with the covenant. Hence the foundation of God standeth sure, and no believer shall lose his divine inheritance, which is his by a covenant of salt.

[from Faith’s Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon]

Scripture at Sunrise 10.30.2012

Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. -Ezekiel 36:25

What an exceeding joy is this! He who has purified us with the blood of Jesus will also cleanse us by the water of the Holy Spirit. God hath said it, and so it must be, “Ye shall be clean.” Lord, we feel and mourn our uncleanness, and it is cheering to be assured by Thine own mouth that we shall be clean. Oh, that Thou wouldst make a speedy work of it!

He will deliver us from our worst sins. The uprisings of unbelief and the deceitful lusts which war against the soul, the vile thoughts of pride, and the suggestions of Satan to blaspheme the sacred name-all these shall be so purged away as never to return.

He will also cleanse us from all our idols, whether of gold or of clay: our impure loves and our excessive love of that which in itself is pure. That which we have idolized shall either be broken from us or we shall be broken off from it.

It is God who speaks of what He Himself will do. Therefore is this word established and sure, and we may boldly look for that which it guarantees to us. Cleansing is a covenant blessing, and the covenant is ordered in all things and sure.

[from Faith’s Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon]

Scripture at Sunrise 2.13.2012

Evening Sermon | Deuteronomy 29 | Pastor Steve Wainright

The children of Israel were called to live by faith. They didn’t know where God was leading them, but by faith they followed the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. In the monotonous wandering of the daily grind, it’s easy to get discouraged because we forget what great things God has done. He is faithful. We must always remind ourselves of how He has worked in our past.

[Listen to the full audio of the evening sermon by clicking here.]

Scripture at Sunrise 11.9.2010

Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.  -Ezekiel 34:30

To be the Lord’s own people is a choice blessing, but to know that we are such is a comfortable blessing. It is one thing to hope that God is with us and another thing to know that He is so. Faith saves us, but assurance satisfies us. We take God to be our God when we believe in Him; but we get the joy of Him when we know that He is ours and that we are His. No believer should be content with hoping and trusting; he should ask the Lord to lead him on to full assurance, so that matters of hope may become matters of certainty.

It is when we enjoy covenant blessings and see our Lord Jesus raised up for us as a plant of renown that we come to a clear knowledge of the favor of God toward us. Not by law, but by grace do we learn that we are the Lord’s people. Let us always turn our eyes in the direction of free grace. Assurance of faith can never come by the works of the law. It is an evangelical virtue and can only reach us in a gospel way. Let us not look within. Let us look to the Lord alone. As we see Jesus we shall see our salvation.

Lord, send us such a flood-tide of Thy love that we shall be washed beyond the mire of doubt and fear.

[From Faith’s Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon, November 9 entry]

 

Scripture at Sunrise 4.5.2010

Sunday School | John 16:1-33 ~ “The Pain and The Joy” | Bro. Steve Dawson
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”  -John 16:20
If they had known about the resurrection at the time of the crucifixion, their joy probably wouldn’t have been as great at His resurrection.  [HT: Becky Dawson]

Morning Worship | “Good News from the Graveyard” | Pastor Steve Wainright
“…And which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…”  -2 Timothy 1:10
For the unbeliever, death means leaving the land of the living and going to the land of the dying.  For the Christian, death means leaving the land of the dying and going to the land of the living. 

Evening Worship | Leviticus 27:1-34 | Pastor Steve Wainright
“…but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”  -1 Corinthians 8:5
vs. 1-8 Dedicating of Lives: As you give to the Lord, you must give of yourself to the Lord first.  (2 Corinthians 8:1-5- Able to give above and beyond because they gave wholeheartedly to the Lord first.)
vs. 9-25 Dedicating Posessions: vow offerings were a celebration of the fulfillment of the vows
vs. 26-34 Addressing issues that might arise with pledges (For example, no firstborn can be vowed, they already belong to the Lord…)
*Promises made in our giving shows our spiritual condition. 
*Read our church covenant to remind yourself what you have promised God and your fellow members you will be responsible for.

Scripture at Sunrise 6.30.09

Back, Then Forward
“Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.”  -Ezekiel 16:60

Notwithstanding our sins, the Lord is still faithful in His love to us. He looks back. See how He remembers those early days of ours when He took us into covenant with Himself, and we gave ourselves over to Him. Happy days those! The Lord does not twit us with them and charge us with being insincere. No, He looks rather to His covenant with us than to our covenant with Him. There was no hypocrisy in that sacred compact, on His part, at any rate. How gracious is the Lord thus to look back in love!

He looks forward also. He is resolved that the covenant shall not fail. If we do not stand to it, He does. He solemnly declares, “I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.” He has no mind to draw back from His promises. Blessed be His name, He sees the sacred seal, “the blood of the everlasting covenant,” and He remembers our Surety, in whom He ratified that covenant, even His own dear Son; and therefore He rests in His covenant engagements. “He abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself.”

O Lord, lay this precious word upon my heart and help me to feed upon it all this day!
[from Faith’s Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon, June 30 entry]

Scripture @ Sunrise 12.1.08

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.”  -Romans 3:23-25b

I wish I could convey how compelling last night’s message was through my notes, but it is nearly impossible.  I hope it was recorded because it was very refreshing, encouraging and stimulated a renewed sense of gratitude in my heart for the blood of Christ.

Notes from Exodus 24:1-8
-God belongs to His people and His people belong to Him.
-This is the confirmation of the covenant.
vs. 1-2– Standards put in place.  Moses is the mediator between God and man & ran up and down the mountain many times.  We must approach God on His terms and by His standards.  (1 Timothy 2:5)
*Whole purpose of Him calling them out of Egypt: Worship (that is the purpose of our redemption as well).
vs. 3– words=laws (Exodus 21/Book of the Covenant)
vs. 4– first recording of God’s words
vs. 7– read it twice (We must have the Word to worship)
vs. 3– automatic response: “We’ll do it.”
vs. 7– Do it and obey/vow to do it
*There should be a desire to do what God says.  (ex: David made mistakes, but he had the desire to serve the Lord)
vs. 4-6– Covenant sealed with blood (quickly)
Covenant=had to be cutting
The Blood: because of it, sins were forgiven
The Altar: symbolizes God
The Sprinkling of Blood: propitiation/satisfaction/appeasement
Romans 3:24-26
vs. 8– God made the covenant (He initiated it, showing His sovereignty)
*God has redeemed us by His blood.  (>Call to worship; justifies, reconciles, cleanses) Ephesians 1:7
Revelation 1:5– loves=linear; ongoing | washed=punctiliar; once for all
Hebrews 9:12-28– purged our conscience from dead works!
Matthew 26
Hebrews 13:20– blood of the everlasting covenant (=Father, Son, & Holy Spirit figured it out for us)
*He is our hope!